Witness
by Mindy35
Summary: KIBBS. McGee POV. McGee watches Gibbs watching Kate.


Title: Witness

Author: MindyHarmon

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.

Summary: KIBBS. McGee POV. McGee watches Gibbs watching Kate.

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Tim McGee has witnessed some strange behavior in his time – starting early on with his grandfather's particular penchant for chickens and continuing when he encountered Agent Gibbs and his team.

He admits in some ways that he is very inexperienced, but believes that a large part of life and an important part of his job is studying and trying to understand human behavior.

He has only been part of the eclectic NCIS team for a short time and they still succeed in bewildering him almost constantly. His boss most of all.

Gibbs is many things, not the least of which is elusive. He never lets his guard down, rarely sits completely still and many would say he hasn't a sensitive bone in his body. Which is why the sight of him at the present moment gives McGee pause; and throws at him yet another bizarre piece of the puzzle that is Gibbs' unpredictable personality.

About three hours ago, they all boarded the Gulf Stream, heading home after an out-of-town case. Tony's excitement hasn't abated in the least as they sit playing a wide variety of old video games at one end of the cabin.

At the other end, Kate has set aside her laptop and is stretched out on one of the sofas. Her face is nestled against a cushion, her hands folded over her waist as her chest rises and falls peacefully.

On the sofa immediately opposite, Gibbs sits in the corner, legs crossed, his elbow propped on the arm of the sofa and hand curled against his mouth. The file in his lap hasn't been looked at in twenty minutes as he peers over the frames of his glasses at her still, sleeping form.

This behavior has McGee very confused. It's certainly not the most shocking thing Gibbs has ever done, but it probably is the most blatant.

He'd heard many stories about Special Agent Gibbs before meeting him. He'd heard the one about him hijacking Air Force One and one of the Presidents few good men.

Was there more to the story, he wondered silently; something he wasn't seeing?

"Tony?" he asks quietly, still studying the tableau behind them: "What's Gibbs doing?"

"What's it look like, Probie?" Tony retorts impatiently, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the game he's playing.

"Ah…." McGee takes another look then turns back to him: "It looks like he's watching Kate sleep," he guesses uncertainly.

"Yeah, he does that," Tony quips carelessly.

"Oh," nods McGee, further confused by the other agents' lack of confusion. "Does she know?"

"The woman sleeps like the dead, McGee," Tony replies distractedly, by way of an answer.

"Isn't it a bit…" he resists the urge to say 'creepy' and doesn't even dare to _think _'inappropriate'. "Don't you think she'd mind?" he asks, peering at Kate as she shifts onto her side on the sofa and curls her fists beneath her chin.

"I doubt it," Tony snorts loudly, hammering at the control keys. "If it were you, McGee, she would mind. If it were me, she would probably scratch my eyes out. But Gibbs…" He raises his eyebrows and lets the implication speak for itself.

McGee still feels like he's not understanding something. "Are they…" he tips his head at Tony quizzically and lowers his voice: "…you know, are they…?"

"Nooooo!" Tony exclaims quietly, pausing the game and peering around at Gibbs and Kate. He studies them suspiciously for a moment before turning back and dismissing the idea: "Nah, Gibbs would never."

He resumes his game, with all the attention span of a ten year old, but McGee is still curious. He turns and considers the absorbed expression on his boss' face for a moment.

"You think he's in love with her?" he finally asks conspiratorially.

"I don't 'think', Probie," Tony responds self-satisfactorily: "I know."

"Really?" mutters McGee: "What about Kate?"

"Well, knowing Kate – _and I do_," Tony continues full of confidence that he is absolutely correct about everything and everyone: "– she probably thinks she isn't."

"But she is?" prompts McGee cautiously.

"Oh, yeah," Tony affirms glibly: "so totally."

McGee watches Tony making faces at the video game and dodging onscreen baddies: "How long has this been going on?" he asks, stunned.

Tony shrugs unimportantly: "Since she threatened to shoot him..." He ducks to one side, fingers playing madly over the buttons: "Or nearly threw up on him; who can tell?"

"And everyone…" he was stupefied: "…_knows?_"

"Well, let's see," Tony began in his most condescending voice: "Ducky knows, which means Palmer knows. Abby knows…._I _know and now, you know. So, yeah, pretty much everyone knows McGee."

McGee shakes his head: "Wow," he comments under his breath.

"Don't worry about it, Probie," Tony offers, giving him a manly slap on the shoulder: "You'll get used to it."

McGee nods thoughtfully. Okay, he thinks to himself; this is just another one of those things that they all collectively ignore. Like how they never mention the fact that he sleeps at Abby's three nights a week, or that Tony had shagged every vaguely attractive woman in the secretarial pool. Or that Palmer played Dungeons and Dragons on a regular basis and had an elf name.

If Gibbs felt the need to watch Kate sleep and if Kate had no objection, well then he couldn't really see the harm in it.

It was a daily process for him; figuring out how he fit into this already fully functioning and strongly bonded group. But if he kept his eyes open and his mouth shut at the right times, then with a little luck, he might just figure it all out.

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End file.
